Long story short, went back to range yesterday for more time with the patriot 308. Initial shells were hornady 165 btsp interbond. Slinging all over place. Switched to hornady outfitter 165 gmx and got it to settle down a little. Finally got it to give a three shot group at 100 of about 2”. Mind you, I really cannot be still enough even with a sled to be same place on bulls eye every time. So, is this the best I can hope for this gun? Talked with a guy there and he was having same issues with a 700 until he bedded stock and now it is sub moa with factory ammo. Is it worth spending that money on this rifle or just move on after season?

Have you tried 150gr bullets? If not go get some blue box federal they are like 15$. They have shot great out of every .308 I have shot them from. Ymmv

I've never had any luck with cheap guns

May be cheap but they have improved quality and dependability over last few years so that is why I bought one.


I have not yet tried any 150s. Federal shells I swore off years ago. But, I may have to give them a try.

Varget and Sierra 168 grainers will fix your accuracy issues.

Quality and dependability don’t mean anything in a gun that isn’t accurate. Not sure what is dependable about a gun that isn’t accurate.

You are correct to a certain point on quality and dependable. I guess I need to trade it for a 6.5 creedmore.

Bingo. A 308 that can't shoot any better than 2"? Throw it in a lake.

This may be whats wrong. Let someone who can be steady shoot it and see what happens.

Or another gun in 308

You don't have to be still. Of course, if it's locked in a vice or sitting in a sled, then yes, it should be stable.
But any sniper will tell you that the key to accuracy is follow through. You never actually stop movement, you learn to squeeze when cross hair lands on the small spot you're aiming for.

Yep, I don't like the sleds, but get a big bean bag and a pad for the back rest and I can comfortably shoot with the cross hairs dead still on the target. This is where you have to shoot to rule out shooter error (flenching from recoil, or just movement in general.) Also assuming you are using a scope at Max zoom, your eye needs to be at the same place relative to the scope each time you shoot or you will get inconsistent results

And fwiw I've never had great accuracy from Hornady ammo. My model 70 shoots Winchester deer season xp, barns ttsx and corelokts very accurate. Ammo I haven't had great results with is federal fusions, Hornady super performance, and deer season. Just what shoots well and what doesn't out of my rifle. You may want to experiment with a few more different rounds. Good thing about .308 is that your selection is almost unlimited

My steyr 308 is a 2 inch gun with 165 grain and will stack them on top of each other with 150s. Try the 150s next time, mine will shoot nearly all 150 grain bullets I've tried really well.

What is your accuracy goal for the rifle? A 2-inch group at 100 yds will kill deer all day long at that range and further out.

Also, there can be a LARGE inconsistency in factory ammo lot to lot, and even box to box within lots. So if you get it shooting better, changing boxes may significantly change POI and/or expected group size.

I have a pic of my last thee shots but cannot post pic. Can someone help me with the picnposting?

And if you can't keep pretty much still on target you need a rabbit ear bag for your rear rest. With a big sand bag up front, a rabbit ear bag in the rear, and something soft to push my elbow into I can get rock solid over the bullseye. You slide the rabbit ear bag back and forth to raise your crosshairs up and down, all you gotta do is worry about squeezing the trigger and keeping the rifle tight on your shoulder if you do it right.

Try some 150gr Winchester deer season or blue box federal. I have a 308 that won’t shoot a four inch group with any factory 168gr. It will shoot a nickel sized group with 3 different 150gr loads and it’s a 900 dollar gun.

I have good luck with core Lokts out of my 308 patriot. 150 grain. Clover leafs at a 100yds off of my fancy bench - the rear tire of my JD2020.

I’m a big fan of the core lokts, seems like all of rifles like them.

Twist rate could be the issue and would definitely look at 150.
ABolt would do nothing with 165 and 1 inch with 150